VICTORY IN JESUS. 1 John: 5:1-5 Key Verse: 5

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1 VICTORY IN JESUS 1 John: 5:1-5 Key Verse: 5 Part I: We obey God s commands (1-3) 1. Who is the one born of God to be his child? (1) Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ, born of God. Once we confess, the Holy Spirit works inside of us so that we are born again to be his children. Why is confessing that Jesus is our Christ so important? (Jn 1:12-13) John 1:12-13 "12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God 13 children born not of natural descent,[a] nor of human decision or a husband s will, but born of God. " Believing in Jesus gives you the right to be called a child of God. There is no other way to become a child of God. Therefore based on John 1;12-13, our faith is based on God s sovereignty not on man s decision. 2. What happens when we are spiritually born of God? (1b) When we believe in Jesus as Christ, we are spiritually born again, and our eyes are open to see the spiritual world. We not only love God but also can identify others as children of God. That is why believers from different backgrounds and countries can have fellowship together because they are both born of God and share the love of God. Why must we love our brothers and sisters? (1b) Loving other believers is the natural outcome of loving God. Because they are loved by God we have an obligation to love them as well. Out of an overflow of abundance we love our brothers when we love God. This is how we show we are true believers. 3. How can we know that we love the children of God? (2) By loving God and obeying Jesus commands to love one another. That means putting the commands into practice. Notice the word obey is a direct and clear word. 1

2 What is one common misunderstanding among us about love? Love is not give and take. Love does not come from feelings, emotions, or intense passions. Because our idea of love is fleeting and up and down, we are often left wondering, how can I get the strength to truly love others? However, God s commands are for us to love one another (Jn 13:34). By our strength, we cannot truly love our brothers. 4. What is love for God? (3a) Verse 3a tells us very clearly, This is love for God: to obey his commands. Without love, you cannot obey. Without obedience, you cannot love. What is Jesus new command? (Jn 13:34) John 13:34 "34 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. " To love one another as Jesus has loved us. Jesus love was for saving us from our sins. He showed us his love then by his obedience to God s commands. This is the new command. Why are his commands not burdensome? (3b, Mt 11:28-30) Matthew 11:28-30 "28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. " Jesus commands are not burdensome because they give us salvation. Part II: We believe Jesus is the Son of God (4-5) 5. Who can overcome the world? (4) For everyone born of God overcomes the world by faith. Those who love God and love their brothers can overcome the world. Who is it that overcomes the world? (5) 2

3 Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Only the Christian that loves from God and loves God's people. In this way because of God, even weak people can experience victory over life. How can we overcome the world? (4-5, Jn 3:3) By believing that Jesus is the Christ and that he came from God We are born again. We must be born again from God. John 3:3 " 3 In reply Jesus declared, I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.[a] " First, the nature of being victorious over the world is up to God. Everyone born of God overcomes the world. Unless we are born again spiritually, we cannot overcome this world in the condition of physical and natural birth. Second, only faith that Jesus is the Son of God brings victory. For their one and only life, people work very hard to live a successful life. But the problem is that we do not know exactly what the criteria of success are. When you possess materials more than others or power to rule over others, you might consider yourself successful. If you pass the Bar Exam to be a lawyer, or become a highpositioned official, then you may say that you are successful. Or perhaps if you are successful in entering into a prestigious college to get a better job and even gaining a promotion to stabilize your place in your workplace, then you may say that you are successful. 6. Describe the world without God. (Ro 1:29-32) Romans 1:29-32 "29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." Approve of those who do evil. Because they don't love God and do not love their neighbor. 3

4 What is the only weapon with which we can overcome the world (4b, 5)? Confessing that Jesus is the Christ from God. Our faith in Jesus can overcome the world. We can never overcome the world without God because Satan rules the world. 7. What are the worldly criteria of victorious life? (Jn 3:1) John 3:1 "Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. " Power money and prestige. For you to be successful even in a worldly sense, you need not only your own power but also support from others. Why cannot the worldly victory give us true success? (Ecc 2:15-16) Ecclesiastes 2:15-16 "15 Then I thought in my heart, The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise? I said in my heart, This too is meaningless. 16 For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die! " Everything is meaningless and crumbles to dust except for faith in Jesus Christ. World victory has the same fate. Julius Caesar shouted proudly, I came, I saw, I conquered. However, he was murdered by his right-hand man, Brutus. Mark Twain seemed to live a happy life because he had great wealth with a very nice family. But when he died, he left with one of the saddest words, It might have been. *How can you live a life of victory overcoming the world? (Jn 16:33, Ro 8:37) Jesus. John 16:33 " 33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. " Romans 8:37 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. " We can win the victory through depending on Jesus and living by faith because Jesus won the victory over this world through the cross and resurrection. Jesus 4

5 told his disciples in John 16:33, I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. 5